Happy Birthday, Spike
by MasterSpikeII
Summary: Just a short story to fill the SpikexRarity void. Enjoy!


Happy Birthday, Spike.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

**(Edit)A/N:** I am well aware that it seems as if Twilight was supposed to be Spike's closest friend, however, seeing as how she was the one who hatched Spike from his egg, (as far as i'm concerned), and as she also decided to raise Spike, it would seem as though their relationship is more of a loving mother/son thing, and that's the relationship between the two in this fic, and in the show as far as i'm concerned. Although with Twilight being the bookworm she is, I highly doubt she has even thought about it in the series.

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><p>It was a bright and sunny day in Ponyville, and Rarity was freaking out.<p>

Inside the Carousel Boutique, she could be seen frantically throwing things around, as if looking for something. Meanwhile, her younger sister Sweetie Belle sat in the middle of the room as she watched her older sibling in the middle of her freak-out session, knowing all too well the cause of her distress.

It was Spike's 13th birthday, and she still hadn't thought of a present for him. And to say that Sweetie Belle was annoyed at her sister's antics would be an understatement. Giving a long and pained sigh, she finally said,

"Will you stop it already?"

Rarity paused for a moment before answering,

"Stop? Stop? I still haven't thought of a present to get for Spike, and you want me to stop?"

"Well freaking out over this is obviously not the answer!"

"Freaking out? Who's freaking out? I'M COMPLETELY CALM AND RELAXED!"

"Yeah... I noticed."

Resuming her frantic and desperate search, Sweetie Belle decided to do at least SOMETHING. And since she was just a small filly, reasoning was her best approach.

"Look sis, we both know you're stressing out over this a bit too much..."

"I am NOT stressing!"

"...but you've gotta stop and think for a second!"

"There IS no time to stop!"

Annoyed, Sweetie Belle got up, and trotted over to her sister who was currently underneath her own bed. She then proceeded to bite her tail and drag her out of there. While Rarity resisted, Sweetie Belle turned her around so that they were face to face, and proceeded in shaking her furiously.

"Stop freaking out and listen to me for just one second!"

"A-a-a-alri-i-i-ight, i-i-i'll liste-e-en!"

And Sweetie Belle stopped shaking her.

"Good. Now, you need to think. Spike is a close friend, and I'm sure that if you just relax, an idea will come sooner or later!"

"But his birthday party starts in an hour!"

"This actually gives you more than enough time to think. Look, just take a walk around town, and think exactly just what he means to you, then you'll think of something, okay?"

"Well, I don't know..."

"We both know you HAVE to do this sis, now go!"

With that, Sweetie Belle pushed her older sis out of the Boutique and shut the door. Rarity gave an exasperated sigh as she began her walk. She hadn't taken two steps before Sweetie Belle opened the door and added,

"And I am NOT cleaning the mess you've made!"

With that, she shut the door and Rarity continued, thinking on what her sister had told her. Just what did Spike mean to her?

A good friend obviously, always willing to help her out whenever she needed it. In fact, he seemed to be there any time she needed it, in more ways than one. And so, she began to remember all of the times he was there, from all of the times that he would help her out at the Boutique, to deeper memories of him like the time he tried as hard as he could to save her from the diamond dogs, and right after the Grand Galloping Gala incident two years ago. Now that memory struck a chord.

_Flashback..._

_Rarity was running, with small tears in her eyes that dropped to the ground as she ran. She got through the main room, where she found most of her friends already gathered there. It was moments later that the rest showed up._

_It was upon reuniting with Spike that they all left the palace grounds. Spike, however, did sense his friend in distress._

"_Rarity, are you alright? You seem down."_

"_Oh, nothing really."_

"_We both know it's not just 'nothing'. What happened in there?"_

"_I...I really don't feel like talking about it right now."_

"_Alright then..."_

_Spike had different thoughts on his mind other than simply letting the subject drop, so he figured he'd talk to her about this later._

_As they all arrived to Ponyville, they went to their respective homes. That is, everyone but Spike._

"_Rarity, wait!"_

_The aforementioned pony looked behind her to see him running towards her and stopping right beside, panting slightly._

"_Look Spike, if this is about earlier, I really don't wish to talk about it right now."_

"_Well too bad, 'cause I am not letting this subject drop until you tell me exactly what went wrong back there."_

"_Spike, please. I really don't..."_

"_Rarity."_

_She looked up at him, and saw how serious he was._

"_Walk with me."_

_Spike then began walking, with Rarity beside him. He then spoke. _

"_You know I'm just worried about you. That being said, I can't let you go until you explain exactly everything that happened. After all, what kind of friend would I be if I just let the matter drop?"_

_She was silent at this, for she knew he was right. After a moment's pause, she said,_

"_...Alright, I'll tell you."_

"_Much better. Now all I need to know is exactly what's wrong."_

_With a sigh, she began._

"_It's Prince Blueblood."_

"_Princess Celestia's nephew?"_

"_Yes. The reason I wanted to go to the Gala so badly, as you already know, was to find my one true love, the colt of my dreams. When I first saw him, I thought, he was the one, I really did. But that soon changed when I got to know him. He was horrible Spike, just horrible! He was just another cynical, self-absorbed jerk! I just couldn't believe it! My one true chance at happiness was gone, just like that!"_

_Spike got in front of her and stopped, looking at her straight in the eye,_

"_That's not true."_

"_Huh?"_

"_Rarity, the Gala wasn't your only chance at finding happiness, if you wait long enough, then I'm sure you'll meet...the one being who cares about you a real lot. One who really loves you. You just have to be patient, and I'm sure you'll find the real 'one'."_

_Looking down, Rarity thought over what he had just said,_

"_I see what you're trying to say Spike, but I-"_

"_But nothing."_

_She looked up._

"_...Rarity, it doesn't have to be some fairy tale encounter. Love will always be love, and you'll find it real soon! All you have to do is wait, I promise."_

_A clawed hand soon found itself stroking Rarity's mane as he said this._

"_Please, I just want to see the Rarity I know and... care about. It really pains me to see you like this."_

_Finally, Rarity couldn't hold back her smile anymore, as well as the single tear of joy that had built up in her eye. Spike suddenly found himself in a crushing hug with the mare of his dreams._

"_Thank you Spike...this really means a lot to me."_

_Returning the hug, he said,_

"_Anytime Rarity. I'll be there anytime you need me."_

_End Flashback._

As she continued her walk, she couldn't help but smile at the memory of that night. Spike was perhaps the most caring being she had ever met. No matter what happened, he was always there for her. One memory that stood out above the rest, however, was one that would remind her just how much the young dragon cared for her. The one memory that was slowly rising up, one that she hoped would forget, yet at the same time keep for the rest of her life. The incident with that Summersday freak. This memory made her stop dead in her tracks for a mere second as that day rushed back to her.

She remembered everything that had happened that day. Summersday was a colt that looked extremely handsome at first. He had told her he wanted to meet her in person, and that, as he said, she may be the mare he's been looking for. It was later on however, that she found out he had said the same thing to four other fillies.

She was devastated that day. The mere thought of it filled her with anger and complete sadness, even today. A tear was building up in her eye due to the heartbreak she had suffered. She hated Summersday, HATED him, simply for playing with her emotions like that. But she also remembered the one good thing that came out of it.

Spike.

He was the first one to be there for her, the first one to console her. She remembered as she cried uncontrollably in his scaled arms. She remembered as he held her, and kept reassuring her that everything would be alright. She also remembered that for the next few days, her friends had come in to help her, but she somehow always found herself waiting for Spike among everyone else. He always was, and always will be there for her, no matter what.

Rarity soon found herself listing all of the qualities that she liked about the purple dragon. He was charming, selfless, honest most of the time, (he would only lie when he needed to, or when he wished to save his hide from an angry Twilight, but the latter rarely happened), he was compassionate, good hearted, and was always far more than pleasant to be around. He was a true friend, closer to her than anypony in her mind. He meant so much to her, and with that, she smiled as she let the tear fall. To her, Spike would always be her knight in scaled armor.

Rarity stopped in her tracks. Right next to the fountain in the middle of town, she then began to realize just what Spike meant to her. All of their good times together, were leading up to a single realization. Quite possibly, the biggest she had ever had in her life. Slowly, but surely she finally began to realize the one thing she was too blind to see before.

She loved him. Rarity loved Spike. He was always there for her, and always will be. He was the closest friend she had, and he always found a way to make her happy. She loved Spike, but the burning question was, did he love her?

So far, she realized despite all he had done, she had only used him as a pincushion. She had treated him unfairly for so long, that she began to feel ashamed of herself. And so, she came to a decision. Possibly the most important one in her life.

For his birthday, she would give Spike her heart, for he deserved it more than anyone.

And that's when the town clock chimed at the hour of 6:00 p.m., Spike's birthday party started at 5:00.

"Oh goodness, look at the time!"

And so, she began her sprint towards the library with one question burning in her mind, would Spike love her back? She had to know.

Upon reaching the library, she knocked impatiently, but not furiously, on the door. After a quick moment, the door opened to reveal Spike wiping off a cupcake from his head.

"Well, look who's a little late"

"I know, I'm terribly sorry. I lost track of time, and I-"

Spike held a hand up to silence her.

"Rarity, it's alright, you got here just as the party was about to get in full swing, so I'd say you're fashionably late."

"Oh. Alright then."

"Well c'mon in! I was worried you wouldn't show for a moment."

"Sorry about that."

Rarity didn't really want to enjoy the party. Right now she needed to think, exactly how was she gonna break the news to Spike, that she fell in love with him? Right now, all she could do was sit near a table as she watched the young dragon place a lampshade on his head and proceed to compete against Pinkie Pie at cupcake eating.

Spike had grown over the last two years, that much Rarity had noticed. For one, he was now taller than her about half an inch, his snout was a bit more pronounced, the two things on the sides of his head, (frankly, I don't know what they are.) had been replaced with horns that curved inward slightly, the spines on the top of his head were sharper with the one in the front forming a small cowl, and his wings, which were almost fully developed.

Although his appearance had changed over time, he was still the Spike she knew and now loved. It was some time during the party and Rarity was still trying to come up with some way to let Spike know how much he meant to her, without catching him too off guard. As the time went by, she grew more and more frustrated, until she finally decided to get some air, at least to clear her mind.

Spike had been keeping an eye on Rarity the whole time, and so far, she didn't look like she was enjoying herself too much. Something seemed wrong with her for some reason, and he was determined to find out what. So he did the one thing on his mind as he watched her ascend the stairs, he followed her.

As Rarity approached the balcony Twilight kept for astronomical purposes, she looked up at the moon and stars, as she felt at ease with herself. That is, until she heard a voice.

"Hey."

Rarity looked back to see Spike approaching her.

"Oh, hello Spike."

Spike stopped right next to her before asking,

"You didn't seem to be having a good time back there, is something wrong?"

'Lots of things' she thought, but instead she just said,

"Nothing really."

Spike then gave her a look that said, 'you and I both know it's not just nothing.'

"What's really wrong? Did something happen?"

Rarity thought for a moment before saying,

"You could say that."

"Is it something I can help you with?"

"Possibly."

"Well, what is it?"

Rarity took a deep breath. It was now or never.

"Spike...what do you think of me?"

Spike did a double-take, seeing as the question had caught him off guard. At that instant, several thoughts ran through his mind, the most notable one being whether Rarity found out about his secret or not. Trying his best to handle the situation, he said,

"Wh-wh-what do you mean by that?"

"Exactly that, what do you think of me?"

Spike thought for a moment, he didn't want to confess how he felt about her yet, but it seemed as if that's exactly what she wanted. Then again, he couldn't be too sure at the moment, so he picked his words carefully.

"Well...you're a really great friend, beautiful at that, in fact, you're the most beautiful mare I've ever seen. You're also really selfless, and I've never really met anyone like you. I guess, you're a really close friend. The closest one I've got to be honest."

With a hint of sadness in her voice, she said,

"So that's it then, just a friend?"

"The closest one to me, really!"

A single tear fell from Rarity's right eye. Thankfully, not the side Spike was facing. She had to look away to prevent him from seeing her like this. Confused, Spike had to ask,

"Hey, why are you asking me this anyway? Not that I have a problem with it just...why?"

Rarity muttered something in a barely audible whisper. Spike, only catching some of it, asked,

"Come again?"

She repeated it once more, a bit louder, but still barely audible to Spike.

"Could you speak up? I can't really hear you."

Deciding to get it over with, Rarity looked at him tears streaming down her face, and shouted,

"Because I love you!"

Shock was all that could be described to explain Spike's facial expression as Rarity continued.

"I love you Spike...I really do. You mean so much to me, so much so that I couldn't help but fall for you."

As she continued to cry, she looked up at Spike with pleading eyes.

"...Rarity, I-"

"If you don't love me, that's alright. You have every reason to do so."

"But Rarity, I-"

"After all, I've only been using you as a pincushion this whole time, and you've done so much for me, that I couldn't possibly think of you loving me back. I'm sorry Spike, I shouldn't have been so unfair to you, I-"

"Rarity!"

At this, she looked up at him, startled for a moment as he spoke.

"...I never thought, not even once, that you were unfair to me. I helped you at the boutique because I WANTED to. Mostly just to spend more time with you. Even if I had to work myself to death, I'd still do it for you. I don't know how you came to think that you've been treating me unfairly this whole time, and frankly, I don't really care."

Rarity cringed at those last words, if for a second, as Spike continued,

"All I care about is seeing you happy, so please...don't cry. I always hate it when you do that."

Spike then proceeded to wipe the tears off her eyes. With all that said and done, Rarity still needed a clear answer.

"So...do you love me?"

Spike sighed as he looked down from the railing in front of him. He then looked up to the night sky for a few seconds before he finally answered,

"...Since the day I met you, around two and a half years ago. So yeah...I've always loved you."

Rarity's eyes widened at what he had just said. He had loved her, far longer than she had hoped.

"Then...why didn't you say anything?"

After a sigh, he said,

"Because I knew back then, you would have just told me off. You would have just said that it couldn't work out between the two of us, and I would have suffered complete heartbreak."

Rarity's eyes widened in realization. Now that she thought about it, she WOULD have told him it couldn't work, she WOULD have turned him down, and she WOULD have made quite possibly the biggest mistake of her life. But right now, all that mattered was this one moment between the two, as Rarity said,

"Well...what about now?"

"Right now, I'm trying to figure out whether this is a dream or not."

Rarity couldn't help but giggle at what he had just said. An idea came to mind at that point, and as it did, a warm, loving look came to her face as she gently said,

"Then I'll just have to prove to you that this isn't a dream."

With that said, she immediately drew Spike in with her front hooves, and finally, kissed him with such passion that it would have made anypony's heart melt. But as we already know, Spike is a dragon, not a pony. So instead of melting, his heart did a complete triple backflip at what was happening, and he began to kiss the love of his dreams back.

After some time, the two pulled apart. As they both looked at each other in the eyes, Spike couldn't help but do one last thing...

...and so he furiously bit his arm, hard enough to make a small amount of blood seep through as he recoiled in pain.

"Yeowww!"

Surprised at this, Rarity asked,

"Why did you do that?"

Clutching his arm in pain, he answered,

"Just checking to make sure this isn't a dream."

With a soft smile, Rarity told him,

"You can be almost as spontaneous as Pinkie Pie sometimes, you know that? Regardless, I actually love that about you."

"Not as much as I love YOU."

The two shared a laugh before leaning in for another kiss. And as their lips connected once more, with their eyes half-closed, a flash instantly made the couple pull away and look at the entrance to the balcony, to see Pinkie Pie, smiling with a camera in her hooves. The camera itself printing the photo, as Pinkie snatched it and waved it.

Spike was the first to speak,

"Wha? Pinkie Pie! How long have you been sitting there!"

Still oblivious to the bewildered looks she got from the two, she said,

"Oh, not long. Since that first kiss actually."

The couple looked at each other, then back to Pinkie Pie. Without another word, she sped back downstairs. After a while, Rarity said,

"Speak of the devil huh?"

"Yeah. So, Rarity,"

"Yes?"

"Where do we go from here?"

Rarity thought for a moment before answering,

"Perhaps you can escort me to the next Grand Galloping Gala. It's about time I actually attend again after that train wreck two years ago, and with you by my side, I can already tell it's going to be the most perfect night of our lives."

The two closed in for another kiss, hoping they wouldn't be interrupted again, but fate had other plans, as the rest of their friends burst through the entrance, with Twilight carrying a photo using her magic, and Rainbow Dash shouting, "Is it true" over and over again until she caught sight of what was right in front of them. Rarity and Spike about to kiss, until they were interrupted, and suffice to say, the look on all of their friends' faces was priceless, seeing as how almost all of them had their jaws dropped at seeing the new couple, Twilight, Applejack and Pinkie Pie, in that order, said,

"It happened... it really, finally, happened!"

"Well i'll be."

"See? Just like I told you guys!"

Spike, who was starting to become irritated over the interruptions, finally said,

"Are you just gonna stand there and watch, or are you gonna leave us alone?"

The rest of their friends started to back away, with Twilight saying,

"Ooh...kay, we'll just leave you two alone."

But just before they left, Spike remembered something and said,

"Hey Twilight!"

The aforementioned mare looked back as Spike said,

"You said it wouldn't happen in a million years, well,"

He then pulled Rarity close to him by the neck and shouted,

"IN YOUR FACE!"

And he then proceeded in kissing Rarity as she giggled uncontrollably. The last thing Twilight did before leaving with the rest of their friends was simply rolling her eyes, while Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie both snickered at Twilight over this. And so they left, shutting the door behind them and leaving the new couple to themselves.

After parting, the two then looked up at the starry sky, with a hopeful look in their eyes, and Rarity, asking after a few minutes of silence,

"I wonder what the future will bring for us both?"

Holding her close, Spike said,

"Don't really know, but I promise you one thing though, I'll make sure you're the happiest mare who ever lived."

As she leaned her head against his shoulder and lowered her eyelids somewhat, she couldn't help but feel happier with every passing minute. Spike then wrapped his wings around her, to shield her from the cold breeze.

"You've already done that. Thank you Spike."

"You don't need to thank me, after all, I will always love you no matter what."

"I love you too Spike, I really do. And one more thing."

Spike looked down at her.

"What is it?"

"Happy birthday, Spike."

Spike simply smiled. Before kissing her again, he said,

"Greatest birthday present ever."

The two lovers had a long time ahead of them. As the moon and the stars shine beautifully, so does their future.

Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash, in her usual blunt way, stated to her friends as they made their way back to the library's main room,

"Hmm, I wonder how their kids are gonna look like."

And all the rest could do was shrug, as several ideas came to each of their little minds. Little did they know, they would soon find out in a few years.

The End.

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><p><strong>AN:**To know more about the incident with Summersday, please read SuperGiantRobot's fic, "Quit Dragon Your Heels". And yes, I did ask for permission before including him in the fic.


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